GCSE · English Literature · AQA · Spec 8702

Animal Farm (Orwell)

Chapter 2: a fierce-looking boar. The final pages: a pig on two legs, carrying a whip. How did Napoleon become the very thing the animals overthrew?

English Literature · Character arc

Follow one pig: Napoleon

Click through his rise, one moment at a time. At every step, ask: what is Orwell showing about power?

Napoleon

Each dot is a moment in Napoleon's rise, in story order. The line only shows the order — it doesn't measure anything.

Moment 1 · The fierce-looking boar

“large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar”

What to notice

Orwell's first picture of Napoleon: large, fierce-looking, “not much of a talker”, but with “a reputation for getting his own way”. Strong, determined, authoritative. Snowball, beside him, is more vivacious: quicker in speech, more inventive, a quick thinker and a good communicator.

Meaning

Napoleon stands for Joseph Stalin. Snowball stands for Leon Trotsky, Stalin's rival. Remember this first picture — it is the starting point for everything that follows.

Moment 1 of 8: The fierce-looking boar. Orwell's first picture of Napoleon: large, fierce-looking, “not much of a talker”, but with “a reputation for getting his own way”. Strong, determined, authoritative. Snowball, beside him, is more vivacious: quicker in speech, more inventive, a quick thinker and a good communicator.. meaning: Napoleon stands for Joseph Stalin. Snowball stands for Leon Trotsky, Stalin's rival. Remember this first picture — it is the starting point for everything that follows.

Napoleon was a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way.

These three had elaborated old Major's teachings into a complete system of thought, to which they gave the name of Animalism.

English Literature · The allegory

Who is who?

Some characters stand for a real person. Some stand for a whole social class or idea. A couple do both. Place each one where you think it belongs, then check.

A A real person or newspaper from Soviet Russia
B A social class, group or wider idea

Old Major
Napoleon
Snowball
Mr Jones
Squealer
The pigs as a group
Boxer and Clover
Benjamin
Mollie
Moses, the tame raven

English Literature · How the pigs keep control

Name the method

The pigs hold on to power in several different ways. For each thing they do, decide which method of control it shows — commit first, then read why.

Still to sort

Propaganda and deception (0)

Making the animals believe what suits the pigs

Fear and violence (0)

Threats and force: death, violence, starvation

Food as control (0)

Using food as a punishment to keep order

Education and information (0)

Who gets to learn, to read, and to know what is really going on

8 of 8 still to sort.

Two ways to respond to the pigs

BoxervsBenjamin

Read across each row. The insight is the point Orwell is making.

Focus

What each says

Boxer

“I will work harder!” — unwavering dedication to labour

Benjamin

“He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark.”

The insight

Boxer's words are about effort; Benjamin's are about not caring.

What each understands

Boxer

His loyalty is blind.

Benjamin

He is intelligent and can read, and he understands the pigs' agenda.

What each does about the pigs

Boxer

Works harder than anyone else, and is exploited.

Benjamin

Chooses not to read, refuses to resist and does nothing to stop the pigs.

When Boxer is taken away

Boxer

Boxer collapses and is sold to be killed at the knacker's.

Benjamin

Benjamin reads the van — too late: “Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of the van?”

What Orwell comments on

Boxer

Boxer's blind loyalty leads to his exploitation.

Benjamin

The dangers of apathy and cynicism.

Why a fairy story?

Reason it through

Why did Orwell wrap a serious political message in a fairy story — and why did that make the book hard to publish?

Link 1 of 4

First link · your turn

Orwell believed education and power were linked. What did that make him want for his book?

Locked — reveal the link above first

English Literature · Orwell's politics

What is Animal Farm attacking?

A classmate says: “Animal Farm is just a story against socialism.”

Which idea is closest to what you think right now? Pick one and see how it gets answered.

It attacks all socialism — Orwell didn't want anyone sharing power or wealth.It's a simple animal story for children, so there's not much to analyse.Socialism and communism are the same thing, so criticising one means criticising both.Orwell was defending capitalism — he wanted the old farm system back.It criticises communism in Russia, where ideals were corrupted — and it can be read as a warning about any extreme ideology.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

It attacks all socialism — Orwell didn't want anyone sharing power or wealth.

This is a common misconception

Not quite. Orwell was a democratic socialist, which meant he supported the idea that people should have a say in the government and some shared ownership of resources and powers. He stated that every line of serious work he had written since 1936 was written directly or indirectly against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism. His target is totalitarian regimes, not fairness.

It's a simple animal story for children, so there's not much to analyse.

This is a common misconception

The talking animals and simple language are real, and Orwell gave it the subtitle A Fairy Story. But it is an allegory: the fairy-story style carries a political message about power, class systems, propaganda, corruption and totalitarianism.

Socialism and communism are the same thing, so criticising one means criticising both.

This is a common misconception

They are not the same. Both reject capitalism, because they believe it is unfair on working classes. But socialists work within a system that still has some private ownership and individual rights, while communists aim for a fully collective, classless and stateless society. Orwell, a socialist, was very critical of communism because he believed it led to totalitarian regimes, as he had witnessed in the Spanish Civil War and the Russian Revolution.

Orwell was defending capitalism — he wanted the old farm system back.

This is a common misconception

Under capitalism, individuals or private companies own and control resources, the main goal is profit and competition is encouraged. Socialists do not support capitalism because they believe it is unfair on working classes, and Orwell was a socialist. Old Major stands for Marx, whose Marxism aims at collective ownership and shared wealth — and the book shows those ideals being corrupted.

It criticises communism in Russia, where ideals were corrupted — and it can be read as a warning about any extreme ideology.

This matches the evidence

Yes. Orwell believed the ideals of communism were utopian and would only ever be corrupted, because hierarchy and power are inevitable, so he wrote Animal Farm as a cautionary tale. Readers can equally read it as a criticism of fascism or other extreme political ideologies, which is why it is seen as a timeless classic.

Orwell was a democratic socialist. Animal Farm criticises communism in Russia for leading to totalitarianism — and, read more widely, any extreme ideology.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

A talking-animal story about a real revolution, and about what happens to the leader.

What you need to know

Who is who: each main character stands for a real person, a social class or an idea — and some stand for both.
How the pigs gain and keep control: propaganda, education, information, violence and fear.
Napoleon's arc, from fierce-looking boar to a pig who walks on two legs with a whip.
Orwell was a democratic socialist writing against totalitarianism.
Why a fairy story, why the book was hard to publish, and why the ending has no resolution.

The big picture

Animal Farm is Orwell's fairy story about the Russian Revolution. Follow Napoleon from fierce-looking boar to a pig who walks on two legs with a whip, and Orwell's warning appears: power corrupts, and the cycle of oppression keeps going.

Key points

1Animal Farm is an allegory: a fairy story with talking animals whose characters and events stand for the people and events of the Russian Revolution (1917–1923).

2Napoleon is Stalin, Snowball is Trotsky, old Major is Marx, Mr Jones is Tsar Nicholas II, and Squealer is Molotov and the power of propaganda.

3Boxer and Clover stand for the working classes, Benjamin for the older middle classes, Mollie for the bourgeoisie, Moses for religion and the pigs for the political classes.

4Napoleon comes to look like the humans the animals sought to overthrow: the show trials echo Stalin's Great Terror, and he ends walking on two legs with a whip.

5Orwell offers no resolution because he wants to show how cycles of power and oppression keep on going.

6Orwell was a democratic socialist who criticised communism for leading to totalitarianism; the book can also be read as a warning about any extreme ideology.

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Worked example

Problem

Use one quotation to show how Orwell presents Squealer. Build a short paragraph that moves from method, to effect, to idea, to context.

⚠ Watch out

Writing that Animal Farm attacks all socialism, or that it is only a simple animal story. Orwell was a democratic socialist; the book criticises communism in Russia for leading to totalitarianism, and the fairy-story style is a deliberate choice.

🧠

Memory hook

From boar, to boss, to man: a fierce-looking pig becomes a tyrant, then walks on two legs like the humans he replaced.

✓

Check yourself

Pick any one moment from Napoleon's arc. In three short sentences say what happens, which part of Russian history it echoes, and what Orwell is showing about power.

Flashcards

(15)

What is an allegory?

A story whose characters and events stand for real people and events. Animal Farm uses the style of a fairy story to convey a political message, using the people and events of the Russian Revolution (1917–1923).

Who does Napoleon represent?

Joseph Stalin, the authoritarian leader of Soviet Russia who created a totalitarian state. Like Stalin, Napoleon carries out executions and uses fear.

Who does Snowball represent, and what happens to both?

Leon Trotsky, Stalin's political rival. Stalin expelled Trotsky; Snowball is violently expelled from Animal Farm.

What does Squealer stand for?

Molotov, Stalin's right-hand man, and more widely the power of propaganda. He also represents Pravda, the Soviet newspaper.

Who are old Major and Mr Jones?

Old Major = Karl Marx, founder of Marxism. Mr Jones = Tsar Nicholas II, the ruler of Russia overthrown by the Russian Revolution.

Boxer, Clover and Benjamin: which classes?

Boxer and Clover = the working classes (exploited, hardest workers). Benjamin = the older middle classes (apathetic, criticised for not using their intelligence).

What do Mollie and Moses stand for?

Mollie = the bourgeoisie, who support and benefit from capitalism. Moses = religion, and an allusion to the church's role in the Russian Revolution.

What did Orwell say about his writing since 1936?

Every line of serious work he had written since 1936 was written directly or indirectly against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism: people having a say in government and some shared ownership of resources and powers.

Which experiences shaped Orwell's politics?

Born in 1903 in Motihari, Bengal, he moved to England at one. From 25 he travelled seeking experiences to write about (Paris kitchens, odd jobs, a vagrant lifestyle), and in 1937 he fought in the Spanish Civil War. This exposed him to political conflict and the struggles of different social classes.

Socialism and communism: what is the difference?

Both reject capitalism as unfair on working classes. Socialists work within a system with some private ownership and individual rights; communists aim for a fully collective, classless, stateless society.

What do the show trials represent?

Stalin's Great Terror of the 1930s: predetermined guilty verdicts, coerced false confessions and a culture of fear.

Why did Orwell choose a fairy story?

To make the book accessible to all and reach a wider audience, getting the message across in a less serious way — he believed education and power were linked.

Why was Animal Farm hard to publish?

Its allegorical features made it far too controversial and risky, particularly because Russia had been an ally in the war.

Why does the ending have no resolution?

Orwell wants to show how cycles of power and oppression keep on going.

How do the pigs keep control?

Propaganda and deception, fear and violence, food used as punishment, and control of education and information.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Follow one pig: Napoleon

Who is who?

Name the method

What is Animal Farm attacking?

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